Enchiladas!!

[CMdeux]

Okay-- I know that there are quite a few of us that rely on.... well, I have X, and I have Z.  What can I make with these items that is allergen-free and uses up the largest amount of both with only what I have on hand....




which is why (unlike those who can have eggs+milk, who have frittatas, omelettes, and quiche at their disposal for this purpose...) I keep corn tortillas and salsa on-hand pretty much ALWAYS.



Things that I have put in my enchiladas and the reviews from family members:



quinoa, chicken, black bean and summer squash, topped with salsa verde-- this is a perennial hit with everyone in our house.


Spanish rice and refried black beans with anaheim peppers -- also a favorite around here, either with verde or roja...


eggplant and onion with goat cheese and basil, topped with pesto (well, basil, garlic, and olive oil)-- I loved this...  but my family termed it "weird."  <shrug>

shredded pork and veggies (minced asst of broccoli, zucchini, onion, carrots, bell peppers, anaheim peppers)-- always a winner-- best with a red enchilada sauce.



What does everyone else like to put in enchiladas?

[GoingNuts]

They're sort of a repository for whatever is leftover, KWIM?  My family's favorite is the simplest - leftover grilled chicken with grilled veggies, refried beans, cheese and salsa.

I have to say your quinoa/black bean/squash one had me drooling.  That sounds over the top yummy. 

ETA: As I was mashing up some avocados, I realized I forgot to include guacamole.  We love having some guac to dip the enchiladas in!

[krasota]

Leftover roast chicken shredded and mixed with salsa verde.  A good salty, crumbly cheese.  Roasted tomatillo salsa.

Sweet potatoes & corn & zucchini.

Sweet potatoes & black beans.

I don't do tomatoes and have issues getting a good red sauce which isn't bitter from the peppers.  I usually make fresh salsa verde this time of year.  Lots of tomatillos right now--roasted works out well.

Sometimes I bake them with cheese.  Sometimes I dip the tortillas in hot salsa (or fry them with oil) and fill them with warm chicken, then keep warm in the oven.  Mix the leftover salsa with sour cream, cover the enchiladas, top with cilantro & crumbled cheese.

[GoingNuts]

Can you share your salsa verde recipe?  The farmer's market I'm going to later usually has tomatillos, and I've been wondering what to do with them!

[CMdeux]

Ditto-- I have about a bushel of the things  and I need to figure out what the heck to do with them all.

  Soon!

[GoingNuts]

Figures, no tomatillos today.  Hope that doesn't mean the season is over.  I did get some poblanos though.  Think I'll try my hand at chili rellenos this week.  If I have time.  Sheesh - this week is looking baaaad for cooking.

[krasota]

I roast a bunch of tomatillos at 400F--enough to fill a quarter sheet.  I usually toss them in olive oil first.  They split and some of the goo chars.  I sometimes toss a few garlic cloves (or a whole head) and some onions and green peppers of various sorts down, too.  I usually have at least one jalapeno, sometimes green frying peppers.  Or I decide it doesn't have to be verde and add some roasted cherry bombs.  If I want the peppers to be hotter, I don't roast them.  Or I simmer some water with onion and hot peppers and use that liquid (and the veggies) in the salsa.

Dump 'em all in the blender.  A handful of cilantro.  A squeeze of lime juice if the flavor isn't bright enough (that doesn't usually happen unless I have more peppers than usual.  Add hot water as needed.  If I want a dipping salsa, no water.  For enchiladas, I thin it slightly.

If you just want to blanch the tomatillos, this recipe is delightful:
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chicken_enchiladas_verdes/
It's where I got the notion of mixing sour cream into the salsa.

[GoingNuts]

Yum.  I hope they have them next week.

Thanks!

[CMdeux]

EXCELLENT~  muchos gracias, chica!


Because I have a working oven, a blender and about a bushel of tomatillos, as well as a few Anaheims and a few bell peppers.  Just need me some sweet onion and I'm good to go!

[nameless]

So I concocted an enchilada the other day that impressed the pants off me!  I discovered Frontera Grill's sauces at Sunflower and they had a green enchilada sauce. I love his salsas, so I bought it. YMMV with the ingredients/manufacturing. I haven't called, but some of the sauces have a warning for facility, others don't. On his salsas, there is only one with a pn/tn same equipment warning, the others don't. Taking that at face value, I'm comfortable with the labels.

ZOMG.

I could very well make the sauce at home like krasota's recipe, but I tend to not have time most days and want a quick dinner.

So - broth-poached shredded chicken w/ broiled butternut squash and lightly carmelized vidalias with Oaxaca cheese and the Frontera green enchilada sauce.\

I never knew broiled squash was SO FREAKING GOOD with vidalias and chicken!  I  used leftover filling the next day for lunch and scooped it up with Food Should Taste Good sweet potato chips.

From my FB:
Basics:
Mix roasted butternut squash slices, carmelized vidalia onion slices, and shredded cooked chicken with a little green enchilada sauce and shredded oaxaca cheese. Make enchiladas with either corn or flour tortillas and pour sauce over and top with cheese. Bake 400F for 20 min or so.

For a meal for myself + leftovers I used 1 large chicken breast, 1 packet enchilada sauce, 1/2 round Oaxaca cheese, half a vidalia, and 1 small butternut squash + 3 tortillas.  I had extra filling which I'll save for lunch! This made 3 full enchiladas also.

Enchilada sauce: I used Frontera Grill's Green Enchilada sauce...it ROCKS! http://www.fronterakitchens.com/shopping/product/green-chile-enchilada-sauce-pouch/ 
Found it at Sunflower Market for $1.99

Roasted Butternut Squash Slices: Peel a butternut squash and slice off bottom round. Slice top part into 1/4" rounds. Cut bottom round in half, scrape out seeds, and then slice into 1/4" strips. Put in a glass dish, sprinkly water, and cover with cling wrap and nuke for 2-3 minutes. you want it barely forkable. Line a cooking sheet with non-stick foil and spread out squash pieces, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Put under broiler til light brown, flip, brush more oil, and lightly brown again. Some spots may get real dark and that's ok.

Onions: slice up an onion and carmelize in a frying pan w/ olive oil...or...cook til translucent so you'll still have texture.

Chicken: Put boneless chicken breasts in a heavy bottomed pot so they are single layer. Pour low-sodium chicken broth til breasts are almost covered then top off the rest with water. Liquid should be 1" over chicken. Bring to a boil, then reduce to barely a simmer. Cover with a little gap open and let almost-simmer for 15 minutes. Then turn burner off and let sit for 20 minutes in hot liquid. I kept a meat thermometer in the middle of one of the breasts...I let it almost-simmer til it hit 160F then when sitting it went up to 170F. So it's all good.  Remove from broth and shred with 2 forks.

Enchilada filling: Mix chicken, squash, onion, and a few TB of enchilada sauce together for filling. Lay out softened tortilla and sprinkle with shredded Oaxaca cheese. Roll up enchilada (I do mine burrito style w/ flour tortillas) and lay in baking dish lined with non-stick foil. Top enchiladas with extra sauce and cheese. Bake 400F for about 20 minutes or til hot all the way through and tortillas are soggy with sauce.